A Report on the Evaluation of Criteria Sets for Assessing Health Web Sites

(Abstract)

Abstract

Consumers need better help to navigate the rapidly growing amount of health care information available on the World Wide Web, as dozens of sets of guidelines and criteria for improving health Web site quality proliferate. At the same time, newspapers, trade journals and other media should do more to call attention to those attributes that make a health Web site relevant and useful, according to two studies published by Consumer Reports WebWatch.

The first study, a collaborative research project undertaken with the Health Improvement Institute, evaluates existing criteria sets for health sites put forth by medical institutions, professional groups, government organizations and others. Access the report in pdf and html format from this page, above.

The second study, from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, analyzes discussions of health Web site information in the medical and popular media. The report can be read in pdf format here.

Together, the studies illustrate problems facing consumers and health Web site publishers, as the number of health sites grows and as more people use them to seek information. At least 22 sets of criteria exist for evaluating Web site information. Many are duplicative, only a quarter are intended by their authors for consumer use, and no single set has emerged as useful to consumers.